


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by scarletmanuka



Series: The Centenarian, The Teen, and The One In Between [18]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Friday is a good bot baby, M/M, Multi, OT3, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Prompt Fill, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 01:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15571173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmanuka/pseuds/scarletmanuka
Summary: Peter gets a call in the middle of the night from Friday asking for help as Tony is having a panic attack.Based on the prompt from regular reader, Edge:Peter waking up in the middle of the night in his home to comfort one of his boyfriends via call





	Home Is Where The Heart Is

Peter jolted awake as his phone vibrated on his bedside table, feeling louder in the silence of the night than any ringtone ever could. In the dim light that always managed to sneak past the blind pulled over his window from the streetlights outside, he fumbled for the device as worry began to curl in his gut. It was a rule of the universe that no phone call at this time of night was ever good news. His imagination was already throwing worst case scenarios at him - Bucky being injured on the mission he was currently away on; Tony getting kidnapped by one of his many, many enemies; a threat to Earth so great that even he as only an Avenger in Training was being called in for. The only reason he wasn’t trembling in fear at something having happened to May was because she was safely down the hall, asleep in bed. Unlike the night that they’d gotten the call about Ben…

His hand finally found his phone and he picked it up, checking the caller ID. His stomach dropped as he saw that it was Friday. He knew that she was capable of calling him independently from Tony and that she even had her own phone line for that (hence her own number) but she had never done so before. “Friday,” he said as he answered, “what’s wrong?”

“Peter, I’m sorry to wake you so late but with Bucky away, you’re the next person in my protocols to call.”

He swallowed hard. “Is Tony hurt?”

“No, he’s not physically harmed,” she assured him. “He had a severe nightmare that I managed to wake him from several minutes ago but he’s now having a panic attack. I feel that if you talk to him, it may help him come out of it.”

“Shit,” he cursed quietly, wondering how much just his voice alone would help but knowing it was the best he had to offer right now. If things were really bad then he could always sneak out and swing over to the Tower but Tony would probably be upset with him if he took that risk. “Can you put me through, Fri?”

“Thank you, Peter,” she said, and she sounded relieved and grateful.

“Tony?” Peter said, trying to sound calm and soothing, “are you there?”

There was no response and the teen strained his ears. Even with his enhanced hearing it took a moment for him to pick up the sounds of quiet whimpers.

“Tony?” he tried again. When there was still no reply, he changed tactics. “Friday, can you by any chance get me visual?” he asked the AI.

“Certainly, Peter. Boss is in the far corner of his bedroom and the camera angle isn’t the best there sorry, but it’s all I’ve got.”

While Fri brought up the video feed, Peter found his headphones and plugged them into the jack so he could put the phone on speaker without waking May. A light suddenly appeared from his phone before morphing into a small holoscreen, thanks to the Starkphone that Tony had gifted him. It showed the bedroom, the lights dim and the space dark, but Peter could make out Tony huddled in the corner, hiding between the wall and a wooden chest that they kept spare blankets in. His knees were drawn up to his chest, making him as small as possible and his face was hidden against his legs. Peter could see even from there that Tony was shaking.

Feeling like his heart was breaking and just wanting to be able to reach through the screen and comfort him, Peter did the only thing that he could - he talked. Using a low, reassuring voice, he began to ramble on about whatever came to mind. He spoke of the cute new dog that he had seen a neighbour walking that morning and how she had let him pet it; he told Tony all about the subs that Delmar made and how good they were, promising to bring him one next time he came by the Tower; he spoke of his surprise to find a friend request from Flash waiting for him the last time he logged into Facebook; he chuckled as he told his partner about the lengths that Ned and Michelle were going to to keep their relationship from her parents whilst simultaneously living in each other’s pockets over the break; he spoke earnestly about how important Tony was to him and how much he admired him, needed him, wanted him, relied on him, and was there for him - told him just how much he loved him and would always love him.

“Love you too, Petey.” It was a mere whisper, but Friday picked it up. Tony’s face was still hidden and he was still shaking, albeit much less, but the fact that Peter’s words had made it through the fog of his panic attack was heartening.

“Hey, you back with me?” Peter asked, hoping he sounded comforting and not condescending.  The genius nodded and made a sound of assent but didn’t raise his face, but that was okay. Peter was just glad that the worst was over. “Do you need me to come round?” he asked, more than willing to risk May catching him if it would help his lover.

Tony finally raised his head and with a small shake, he gave the teen a trembling smile, obviously figuring out that Friday would be sharing surveillance with him. “Nah, it’s okay, baby, I’m fine now.”

Fine wouldn’t exactly be the word Peter would have used but he let it slide for now. “Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked instead.

A haunted look crossed those whiskey coloured eyes, and it was a stark reminder of the terrible things that Tony had seen, had experienced, had _survived_. “I...no, I can’t, Petey,” he whispered, shuddering. “It was too horrible.”

Peter nodded. “It’s okay, Tony, you don’t have to tell me unless you want to. I’m always here to listen though, if you need me.”

So quietly that even Friday’s sensors had trouble picking it up, Tony whispered, “I have so much to lose now.”

A small, pained whine escaped Peter’s throat at that admission and he had to force himself to stay seated on his bed and not get suited up and leap from the window to hurry to the Tower. Tony was talking about Peter and Bucky - his _enhanced_ lovers. He was tortured in his dreams by the thought of something happening to the two of them, of losing them, when really, the sad fact was, of the three of them, Tony was the most vulnerable. After he’d been knocked out by Rogers, Bucky and Peter had spent a tense and worried hour or so at the hospital, waiting for their partner to be checked over by the doctors where they’d had a scary and painful conversation. Without the armour, Tony was a self-categorised ‘squishy human’ - he wasn’t enhanced in any way, he wasn’t invulnerable, and the heartbreaking fact was that the chances of him being hurt or killed during a mission was exponentially higher than for the other two. Then, even if he _did_ get to the end of his Iron Man career unscathed, the fact was, he was aging like any normal human.

Peter did his best most of the time to not think about the age differences in their relationship; to him, it wasn’t important and didn't affect the love that they shared. Sure, the rest of the world would be very opinionated about it (if they knew) but Peter had never felt coerced or pressured, never felt like there was an unbalanced power dynamic between any of them. No, the worries he had with the age differences actually stemmed more from himself and Bucky being enhanced, and Tony _not_. Bucky was one hundred years old but physically, he was barely thirty. Yes, he’d spent a lot of those years in cryo but the modified serum that Hydra had injected him with was definitely altering the way he aged, slowing it down.

Peter appeared to be aging normally for now but who knew what effect his spidey powers would have later down the track? Even if he continued to age normally, he suspected that he wouldn’t be susceptible to the ailments that afflicted regular humans and so his life would be of a much higher quality. But Tony?

Tony was already in the prime of his life, and he’d suffered such terrible physical hardships that his health had definitely suffered. His mental and emotional health aside, there wasn’t only the cumulative injuries from being Iron Man to take into account but the residual trauma from the shrapnel wounds plus the insertion - and then removal - of the arc reactor. Those tiny pieces of metal that were threatening to tear apart his heart from the inside had been removed, and his sternum and ribcage had been rebuilt, but what would the long lasting consequences of that be? For now while he worked hard to maintain his fitness and health, Tony didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects, but what about later? What would happen in ten, fifteen, twenty years when he _couldn’t_ continue his current fitness regime, and his lung capacity that he’d worked so hard to build began to decrease once more. Watching the genius gasp and struggle to breathe due to a panic attack was one thing, but Peter couldn’t imagine the horror of watching him fight for air just from climbing a flight of stairs or getting dressed. As much as he wanted to bury his head in the sand and ignore the fact that Tony was forty seven already, Peter knew that he couldn’t. He had to face the fact that his lover was much older than him and eventually there would come a time when Tony’s health would begin to deteriorate. Peter hadn’t spoken seriously to his partners about their long term commitment as yet but as far as he was concerned, this was forever and so he _would_ be there by Tony’s side when he started to decline. He had no idea how he would cope but at the end of the day, he knew that he would because Tony meant the world to him and he would be brave for the man that he loved.

Peter pushed aside such morose thoughts for now, needing to concentrate on making sure that _here and now_ Tony was okay. He could give some thought to the future at a later date, perhaps even sit and have a grownup discussion about it with his partners, but for now, making sure Tony was okay after the attack was more important. “You’re not going to lose us,” Peter assured the genius, putting every ounce of confidence he possessed into that statement.

“By choice,” Tony replied in a broken whisper, “but what if you aren’t given a choice? What if someone takes you from me, Petey?”

He shook his head vehemently. “Nope, not gonna happen. They can try, Tony, but even if I can’t beat them alone, no one is a match for you and Bucky. I know that you’ll always come for me and that you’ll always bring me home.”

Tony looked almost wistful. “Home,” he said in a soft voice. “Where is that, baby? Where is home for you?”

Wondering how his lover hadn’t figured that out as yet, Peter gave him a puzzled look. “You don’t know?”

The genius shrugged, resting his cheek on his knees, averting his eyes from the camera in the room. “No.”

The teen let out a good natured huff and asked, “Tony, can you look at me? Please,” he added.

It took a long moment, but Tony finally looked back at the camera. “What?” he asked, sounding exhausted.

Peter wished that the genius could see him, could see the truth in his eyes but he had to try and convey everything with his voice alone. “I would have thought that it was obvious but apparently not, so I’m going to make it very clear, okay? Home is wherever you and Bucky are. You are my home, Tony.”

A small, shy smile appeared on Tony’s face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it really is,” Peter said. Suddenly he couldn’t hold back any longer and he stood, crossing to his wardrobe and retrieving the case that held his suit. “And I’m really homesick right now,” he told Tony. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be there. Don’t bother arguing with me, or trying to talk me out of it either.”

He saw Tony’s mouth close from where he’d been about to protest. “Alright then,” he conceded.

“Excellent,” Peter said, pulling his mask on. “Keep the porch light on for me, Tony - I’ll be home soon.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Late edit sorry, moodboard can be found [on my Tumblr](https://78.media.tumblr.com/5a3092cd411a93060086432a36399e48/tumblr_pd125ujLk21vu7vzho1_540.png)


End file.
